


Counterattack

by sanctuary_for_all



Series: Partners [5]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, Family, Feels, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-26
Updated: 2014-11-26
Packaged: 2018-02-27 03:42:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2677736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctuary_for_all/pseuds/sanctuary_for_all
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“When we argue, whether it’s about who owns your house or the fact that you are clinically insane, you always have a comeback. But when I actually say something hurtful, something that anyone in their right mind would see as an attack, you don’t do anything. I do not understand this.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Counterattack

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into 中文 available: [反击](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12158964) by [stillexploring](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stillexploring/pseuds/stillexploring)



> Sorry - this one is kind of a flashback fic, set last season when Danny's mom showed up (I've readjusted the series order accordingly so it's the right place in the timeline), and I am incredibly belated in realizing it needed to be written. I considered whether or not to just leave it on my hard drive for my own personal reference - if I should do that next time, let me know.

Danny may have spent his formative years learning the basics of brawling in New Jersey alleyways, but everything he’d learned about verbal fights had come straight from home. The techniques, as it turned out, were surprisingly similar – never let up, never let them pin you into a corner, and if you screw up rule two hit them fast and hard where it hurts. Even if it doesn’t end the fight, it’ll give you some breathing room.

He’d turned out to be good at both, which had been helpful on the job but less so during his marriage to Rachel. She was just as good with a verbal jab as he was, if not better, and neither of them ever hesitated to take the shot. The rhythms of it had been so familiar to him, even when it hurt like hell, that he didn’t realize how destructive it had been until long after the divorce papers were signed. It was just the way life was.

Sometimes, stress could push him into fight mode even when he wasn’t being attacked. If someone got too close when he was feeling edgy, or vulnerable, a quick verbal punch was usually enough to send them scurrying out of the way. Mostly, they deserved it.

And then there was Steve.

000

Danny paced back and forth across Steve’s office, radiating so much frustration and anxiety he could practically feel himself vibrating with it.  Damn it, he should have seen this coming, should have known when his mom’s normal mood swings had shifted into something more serious. As upset as she was now, there was no way she could handle being on her own. Then he’d either have to worry about her all the time long distance, or she’d move out here and leave him and Steve without a single moment of peace.

And seriously, where the hell was his dad in all this? _Was_ he thinking about doing something stupid? Now that Matt was wherever the hell he was, it was his dad’s job to at least keep a decent enough eye on things to hold the fort down until Danny could take care of it. Clearly, though, he couldn’t even do that much. 

Damn it, he should have seen this coming ….

Steve, who had been listening to variations on this particular rant for the last hour or so, leaned forward. “Danny, it’ll be okay. I think you’re underestimating your mother.”

“Really?” He stopped, pivoting around to glare at Steve. “Have you not been listening? I love the woman dearly, but she does not handle being alone well. When we were kids and dad was out at the station, she always woke one of us up if she couldn’t sleep. Even if it was 3 a.m. and I had school in the morning, there I was.”

Steve winced at that, then changed tactics. “Okay, then maybe she’ll start dating.”

“How does that help?” Danny threw his arms up in the air. “I know you’ve never really had to experience this, but random, casual dating is mostly hell. My mother is not equipped to deal with that.” He scrubbed his hands across his face, feeling the future weigh down on his head. He had _responsibilities_ , damn it, as much as he hated them at the moment. “I don’t know why I’m even talking to you about this.  Your mother couldn’t even get divorced like a normal human being. She had to pretend she was dead to get away from your father.”

“Hey!” Steve made a settle-down gesture with his hands. “Take it easy.”

Danny didn’t respond, refusing to feel guilty as he waited for the rest of it. All Steve been doing is trying to calm his boyfriend in the middle of a nervous breakdown – doing a terrible job at it, true, but still trying – and he’d been repaid with about the cheapest shot in Danny’s arsenal. Surely Steve would fire back at this one, maybe something about the mess he’d made with Rachel. Anyone would, in his place.

Instead, Steve just leaned back in the chair again. “Worrying about this right now isn’t going to help anything. Once you’ve calmed down, maybe talked with your dad to find out his end of things, you’ll have a better idea about what we should do next.”

All Danny could do was stare at him. “Seriously?”

Steve pointed a finger at him. “You know you think better when you’re calm. Don’t try to deny it.”

“That’s not what I mean, genius.” _Now_ the guilt was coming in, along with a strange sense of exasperation he’d never really been able to identify the source of before now. “I mean the fact that I was just hit you in a very sensitive emotional spot, _completely_ without provocation, and all you do is tell me to calm down.”

Steve just looked confused. “What?”

“You. Do. Not. Fight. Back.” He gestured as if the words were between them, hanging in midair. “When we argue, whether it’s about who owns your house or the fact that you are clinically insane, you _always_ have a comeback. But when I actually say something _hurtful_ , something that anyone in their right mind would see as an attack, you don’t do anything. I do not understand this.”

Steve still looked lost. “I thought we were arguing about your mother.”

“We were. Now we’re arguing about this.” Danny sat down in the chair opposite Steve’s, his sense of internal urgency pushing in an entirely new direction. He’d caught himself taking jabs at Steve more often in the months before they’d gotten together, a reflection of the realization that he was hopelessly emotionally committed to someone who thought he was some sort of superhero, and Steve had just gotten this frozen look on his face and moved on with the conversation.

It made no sense.

“I know you have absolutely no self-preservation instinct in physical situations.” Danny leaned forward. “But you cannot tell me that the SEALs or your insane family beat down your internal defense mechanisms so completely that you no longer even bother trying to defend yourself when someone….” The words trailed off as his brain caught up with what he was saying, the realization coming at him like a punch. “Oh _hell_.” He fell back against the seat, staring at Steve in horror. “That’s exactly what happened, isn’t it? Shit.” He pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. “I’m an asshole. I’m the world’s biggest asshole.”

“Danny….” Steve sounded genuinely alarmed now. “It’s okay. Everything’s okay. I know you didn’t really mean it.”

Danny dropped his hands, looking at the man he loved. Steve’s expression made it clear that he still didn’t really understand what Danny was so upset about, but that he was determined to do everything he could to make sure his partner was okay. Like that was really all that mattered.

Damn it.

Danny let out a breath. “You’re right. I didn’t mean it.” He pushed himself to his feet, feeling a fierce surge of protectiveness as he walked around to drop a kiss to the top of Steve’s head. The man had just been moved into Danny’s personal safe zone from now until the rest of forever, no matter how miserable or upset Danny himself felt. If he had to unlearn years of habit to make it happen, then so be it. “I’m sorry.”

“I know.” Steve squeezed his arm. “And I’m sorry about what’s happening with your folks.”

“It’s okay.” He straightened, feeling surprisingly calmer than he had an hour ago. “Like you said, we’ll come up with something.”

Steve smiled up at him, the entire argument clearly forgotten. “We always do.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come check out my weekly posts and original short fiction on my [blog](http://jennifferwardell.blogspot.com) or say hi to me on [Tumblr](http://sanctuaryforalluniverses.tumblr.com)!


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